Truss, Liz (1975-…), a British politician, became prime minister of the United Kingdom in September 2022. However, her tax plans led to economic and political turmoil, and she resigned the following month. Truss is a member of the Conservative Party. 
Mary Elizabeth Truss was born on July 26, 1975, in Oxford, England. She is popularly known by the shortened form of her middle name. Truss and her family lived in Paisley, Scotland, for a short time. She spent much of her youth in Leeds, England, where her father was a professor at the University of Leeds. Truss attended Roundhay School in Leeds. She received a degree in economics, philosophy, and politics from Merton College of Oxford University in 1996. Before entering politics, she worked in accounting and economics.
Truss led the student society for the Liberal Democrats party at Oxford. She joined the Conservative Party soon after graduating. She married Hugh O’Leary, an accountant, in 2000.
In 2010, Truss won election as a member of Parliament (MP), representing the constituency (district) of South West Norfolk. Parliament is the central lawmaking body in the United Kingdom. Truss was reelected to Parliament in 2015, 2017, and 2019. She worked for the governments of prime ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson.
Truss was appointed a Cabinet undersecretary of state in 2012. In 2014, Truss became the secretary of state for environment, food, and rural affairs. In 2016, she became the first woman formally appointed lord chancellor. She served as the deputy treasury minister from 2017 to 2019. She was minister for women and equalities from 2019 to 2021.
In 2016, Truss advocated against Brexit—the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU). The European Union is an economic and political partnership among European countries. Truss later publicly embraced the withdrawal, which was completed in 2020.
In 2021, Truss became foreign secretary in Boris Johnson’s government. She succeeded Johnson as Conservative Party leader and prime minister on Sept. 6, 2022. Truss promised to work on lowering taxes and achieving economic growth. Her tax cut plan proved politically unpopular and contributed to a decline in British financial markets. Truss fired her finance minister, and the government reversed her tax cut proposals. On Oct. 20, 2022, Truss announced that she would resign as prime minister and party leader upon the selection of a successor. Rishi Sunak succeeded Truss as party leader and prime minister later that month. 
Truss wrote a political memoir, Ten Years to Save the West (2024). In elections in July 2024, she lost her seat in Parliament.
